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Friday, February 4, 2011

Mandarin Friands - 金吉蛋糕

Mandarin Friands 5

Mandarin Friands 4

Mandarin Friand 10

春到堂前添瑞气  日临庭上增吉祥
To all those who are celebrating the Lunar New Year, (and that includes all Chinese in China, Taiwan, SE Asia, the rest of the world and not forgetting the Koreans) here's wishing every one a very prosperous and successful Rabbit year ahead. ( And I learnt that for the Vietnamese, it is the year of the cat!!?)

While Christmas is a time for religion,parties, pretty dresses and presents, Chinese New Year is a time for spring cleaning, tradition, family get together and non-stop feasting. For many, this is a time, where we literally hop from one family to another, visiting some relatives whom we would only see once a year...
L was complaining to me how he has been eating every 2 hours and gorging himself to surfeited lethargy...
I made matters worse for him when I faithfully regurgitated what I heard over the news yesterday... a pineapple tart contains 180-200 calories, a slice of barbeque pork (bak kua) carries with it 300-400 calories and a couple of egg rolls/love letters will throw in another 150-200 calories... Should I feel stressed? Yes, definitely! To think that popping 10 pineapple tarts would already have completed one's calorie intake required for the whole day, I must have consumed at least 3X of what I need for the day, binging on the variety of Chinese New Year treats.
Friand 9
I choose to share this Mandarin Friand treat because it does not contain any oil or butter. Nevertheless, the little cake is still amazingly moist and tender because of the generous amount of pureed Mandarins. The Friand, for those who are not familiar, is a traditional French cake which is based on nut meal. Most commonly baked with almond meal, I chose to make mine with Macadamia nut meal instead. It is not unsimilar to the Financier but this version does not contain any melted butter. Instead, seasonal Mandarin Oranges are boiled ,pureed and added into the cake to impart an exceptional burst of citrusy moistness. With the auspicious Mandarin Oranges as the staple ingredient, the aptness of this treat for the festival is impeccable.Served with orange flavoured Chantilly cream, this would also be a perfect treat for afternoon tea...

Mandarin Friands (100)
Recipe :
2          Mandarin Oranges, washed and scrubbed clean.
55g      All purpose flour
1 tsp    Doubel baking powder
3         Eggs
150g   Castor sugar
250g    Macadamia Nut meal
1tsp     Orange extract
Candied orange peel for garnishing.

Method :
1. Place oranges in a small saucepan. Cover with water and  bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 1hour. Cool down. Cut the oranges in half and remove the pith and pips. Puree the oranges with skin in  food processor and set aside.
2. Heat oven to 180C.
3. Mix flour and baking powder in a small bowl.  In a mixing bowl, mix Eggs and sugar until well combined. Whisk in flour, macadamia nut meal , orange puree and orange extract.
4. Grease mold with butter and pour batter into mold. Garnish with a strip of orange peel.
5. Bake at 180C for 20mins.
6. Cool down and serve.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh wow! they look so cute and dainty! like little gold bars! how apt for the CNY festivities! Huat ah! Curious me, where did you draw inspiration on for this interesting recipe?

Jean said...

these little baby cakes look awesome! well i've also gained 1-2kg over these few days, and it's just the start of the festive season, 2 more weeks to go hahah!

have a happy cny!

j3ss kitch3n said...

These friands looks amazing shirley! Happy Rabbit Year!

Anonymous said...

Lovely mandarin cakes. Happy Chinese New Year! :)

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@travelingfoodies, actually this is not uncommon. The Morrocans has a flourless orange cake that looks very much like this. It boils and puree the orange in the same way. I just changed the nut and baked them in smaller square molds...:)

tigerfish said...

No oil or butter but still moist and tender, what can be better than that? 满堂吉祥!

Happy Chinese New Year to you and your family :)

Maria @ Scandi Foodie said...

They look gorgeously orange and so moist!

Trissa said...

I'm in love with the idea of using macadamia nut meal. You are right about these beauties looking so moist. Happy Lunar new year!

La Table De Nana said...

They look great the mini thumbnail is too cute too..Love it..

don't worry about the calories,enjoy every single mouthful..I bet you are teeny:)

I like that word..always have..friands.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Shirley, Thanks for sharing this healthy cake that look less calories. May you and your family has a properous Rabbit New Year.

grub said...

i'm amazed that it is so moist without the use of butter or oil! it's a great recipe for cny esp if one intends to eat lots of other goodies. p.s don't serve with too much cream, or it will ruin the purpose of being far free haha

happy Chinese new year!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Grub -hahaa, yes,no cream for CNY!

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Wow at the calories of those treats and even more WOW at the fact that these adorable cakes have no butter or oil. This is a win-win situation for all of us with sweet tooths.

Anonymous said...

Shirley, thanks for the explanation! very enlightening. this recipe is definitely a keeper! :)

Having done made it, anything you feel could be improved to make it better?

Paula said...

I can`t stop looking at this! It`s absolutely divine and I want to try this...

Have a great time,
Paula

Brittany Trei said...

Wow, those cakes look delicious... Non stop feasting, Mmm... I don't know if I'd mind. : P

busygran said...

Shirley, you've got my attention - no butter or oil? This has got to be my kind of cake! I must give this a try. Thanks and Happy Lunar New Year!

Joanne said...

I try not to think about calories over the holidays...after all they only come once a year! Plus these friands and so cute and petite...I'm sure you could pop a few guiltlessly!

maameemoomoo - a ½ food blog said...

Excellent!!

I've many Mandarin Oranges left and way too many egg whites in the fridge. Best of all, no oil/butter! Heheheh. I'm baking this!!

Noob Cook said...

This is a great use of CNY leftovers. happy Rabbit CNY!

petite nyonya said...

here's wishing you gong xi fa cai & a great year of the bunny! this is a delightful result from the use of mandarin oranges.

Min said...

This is a healthier choice I think. I don't dare to take too much for Chinese New Year also, those calories are really scary. Happy New Year to you and your family!

Zurin said...

Happy new year Shirley.Sorry for the late wishes.

those friands look so fresh and juicy. Interestign that there is no butter in it. I must give them a try one of these days. Love the red plate!

pickyin @ LifeIsGreat said...

Gong Hei Fatt Choy Shirley, sorry for the late wishes!

Vegan Magic said...

WOW They look absolutely divine! I can only imagine how they taste. Bookmarked! (I found your blog through Tasteologie)

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